contender

American  

[kuhn-ten-der] / kənˈtɛn dər /

noun

1. a person or group that competes against others to win something; contestant.

   The three remaining contenders for the Democratic Party nomination met for a televised debate.

2. a person or group with a good chance of success in a contest.

   After last season’s disaster, the Texas team needed to convince me they were a contender.

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Etymology

Origin of contender

contend ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The AFC North figured to produce a juicy race this season because it had three teams expected to be contenders.

From The Wall Street Journal

It probably suits them that no-one really has them down as title contenders now, either, even though Sunday's game was first versus second going into the weekend.

From BBC

The winning streak completed a remarkable turnaround from a 2024 where England lost seven successive matches against tier-one opposition and they now enter the Six Nations as genuine title contenders.

From Barron's

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, the other title contender, will start third, also a threat to Norris.

From BBC

Rep. Al Green, a Texas progressive, spoke at the rally, as did House of Representatives contender Kat Abughazaleh from Illinois.

From Salon

Related Words

• adversary
• challenger
• competition
• contestant
• opponent
• rival